A Stellar Discovery

Flying in on her harpies, Leona wore her green-and-gold outfit, which had become her default outfit at this point. One her back was her backpack of supplies and on her hip was her Nightshade Machete. On her hands were her Argent Gloves. Today her guild would be exploring Celestial Sanctum, the land of the Alliance that only Alliance members were allowed to set foot on.

The guild was here to investigate the rumored existence of a magical book called the Testament of Stars. Some said that it was real and that it was in Celestial Sanctum. Others claimed that it was just a figment of the imagination. Silver Wolf was here to see if the rumors were true and to obtain the artifact if it actually existed.

Her harpies looped around to lower speed, then gently set Leona down in a clearing on the ground and the materials to set up a large tent. She thought about bringing materials to make a base camp, but then a glaring problem came up. How would the guild secure it? All of its members would be out in the field and the camp would be exposed to anyone who happened upon it. Leona could have her summons protect it, but she would need her summons in the field.

However, it was too late. She had already brought the supplies, so she might as well go through with setting up the base camp. Her experience with Haley during the moss expedition to Silent Glacier made it clear that having a camp was a good idea. It made for a handy place to organize members of the guild and a location that could be used as a convenient landmark. The blonde organized the materials and started setting up the large tent that would be their field headquarters.

While Leona started the work, her harpies served as lookouts. She hoped that other Silver Wolf members would get here soon. She had a feeling that she was far from alone on the island.

[Word Count: 336]

Nothing in the heavens or on Earthland would keep Yuvon from this expedition. It would take place in the Celestial Sanctum, a large, floating island hidden from the public world that it soared over - the perfect base for the new alliance between three guilds known as the Silver Moon Fairies. It was a marvelous decision taken by the members and leaders of each guild to join forces, for Yuvon was but a wanderer when he heard of the troubles and tribulations hitting the guild of Fairy Tail in their previous days. Yes, the news even reached him when he entered Fiore for the first time.

But with pain came knowledge. And those who disregarded the gift of knowledge were truly ignorant. How could you throw away the tool to keep you breathing in this life? For that very reason, Yuvon’s signature was sealed from the very beginning in his career as a wizard, and his persona was straight to the point; he wanted knowledge above all other things in this world, the ultimate knowledge, the casual knowledge, and the arcane knowledge. He kept thinking those glorious thoughts under his mask as a fog of green substance surrounded his position during the inter-world travel from Apocrypha to the promised island.

He was accompanying somebody too. Despite not having many aerial tools in possession that could enable an ability to fly (yet), this world-jumping spell would do the trick perfectly. Although, he had to adjust and decorate it with more experience as a wizard, before it was battle-ready. It took a small while to physically put him on the mortal plane again, and it would be so for his ferocious companion too. Kitalpha Aurence, his misunderstood, honourful guildmate with the strength of a dozen Ogres and the beauty of a sculptured icicle reflecting the sparkles of a nearby bonfire. If you asked him, he’d feel quite privileged to have such a… well, ‘passionate’ was the word that he looked for, but she sure seemed like the fierce type too.

Then again, he had no memory of ever talking to her before today…

“We’ve arrived at the presence of Lady Leona, at last,” he stated as the green fog dissolved and spawned the two Silver Wolf Wizards near the construction of the tent. He instantly begun setting up the spikes on the other side of Leona that would hold the tent up, since the time and place called for his assistance to their Guildmaster.

“My mind is still in ecstasy at the possibility of such… testament. Any new book intrigues me, but this one is a cut above the rest in terms of content if I’m approaching the right response.”

WC: 448

The arrival of this new job, while interesting, might have been one Inkormine would have passed on, actually. With no transportation lined up by the guild and many of the guilds members away, getting there would be trouble for the spider who hadn't operated a vehicle before, and indeed would have had no way to get there at all. But, after he'd gotten back from his requested job the guildmaster had set him in Morgate Town, he'd wanted to do some studying of the scientific principles the outside world had. And that, that was not an easy task. Starting from a barely piecemeal understanding of sciences based more on instinct and observed experiences rather then any sort of formal education or book learning, then trying to start understanding it by yourself? Well, there was a reason his short amount of study had already led to a rather interesting idea that, if he did it right, would let him onto the guilds job as well as make this work.

Thus why Inky was outside the guild hall, just inside the barrier, under a tarp with a few books stacked in a little shed next to him, his sister Song nearby handling her own preperations after he'd explained what little he could to help her out, weaving together a softly glowing silver and gold net made from magically imbued, very thin spider silk strands, glancing up at the sky occasionally, the snow melting off the warm netting as it touched. Inky slid out a piece of notebook paper covered in barely legible scrawls of writing and numbers and a couple hatch-pattern doodles on the edges with question marks next to them. Looking it over again, he sighed slightly and put the page back into his bag, lifting a front leg like a nervous tic as he finished up his netting. "Can't even use any of these numbers really..." He mumbled to himself as he watched the snow blowing gently across the guild halls grounds. With what he did grasp, he couldn't turn any of these numbers into reality, so it looked like he was going to have to go by his gut, again. Not something he liked the thought of seeing as he was supposed to be travelling quite a ways if this worked, but hey. He could lighten his fall to avoid serious injury if he fell, and he had some water bladders currently filled with air in case he hit the water. Combine that with waterproofing his bag and a nice warm vest he'd made himself and he was all set.

So, after weaving a long rope to tie to his pack, and checking the wind one more time, Inky wound up his net tightly, exuding some web to attach to it. The book had said other spiders just used the webs emitted directly, but he didn't think there would be enough voltage to support his mass so easily, so he'd woven his own net array infused with magic to make up the difference. One more glance and a quick "Sure hope this works" later, and Ink stepped out from under the tarp, and raised his abdomen, stomach muscles clenching down as he tensed up and fired a bolt of his web silk upward, tugging the net behind it, as the netting spread open in the flight, starting to slow down... before the electrostatic repulsion effect between the netting and the house kicked in, and the solar energy sweeping the land with the storm grabbed it with the voltage of the air, pulling the netting away as Inky hastily grabbed the webbing and tied a loop around himself, tightening the pack straps before he was yanked off the ground and into the sky. "Meet you at the island Song!" He shouted with only a little sudden fear in his voice as he flew away from his sister.

Inky had to fight not to scream as he, understandably, panicked a little as he was suddenly WRENCHED off the ground by this netting, hauled over the guild hall and into the sky in seconds, clinging with all ten limbs to the web rope for a good couple of minutes before he was even willing to open his eyes. It actually wasn't too bad at first, as the clouds and the blizzard around the hall made him seem to just be surrounded by endless white, not really too much different then laying outside during a strong sandstorm, although then there was, you know, ground. And a protective wall to stop from being buried or skin flensed by sand. Okay it was a lot more different but the thought helped calm the spider down. By his rather simple calculations and study of the various maps in the guild, this route should take him too the island, although it would obviously take a while, riding the electric currents in the sky, to get out there. Luckily, he could easily hold to the rope without his hands now that he was airborn, meaning he could dig into the little webbed pocket he'd made to hold a book protected from the wind or being dropped. But before he did more then shift the pouch around, light suddenly broke through as he exited the clouds and blizzard, leaving Inky to stare agape out over the countryside. He could see towns from here, farms, the works. He was so high up thanks to this, and it was crazy.

It took a little bit before he turned and noticed the black clouds covering the sky in the direction he was going. Was that a storm? That could get wet... Wait, a storm? As he started to put together that lightning storm plus electricity related propulsion could get unusual, he was wrenched hard as the new voltage grabbed his netting, pulling him into a much faster speed straight towards the storm.

Inkormine eventually reached the island, ending up not being much later then the slayer ace and the guildmaster and the teleporters, thanks to his purposefully early start. Luckily the storm had died out over the ocean, leaving him at a reasonable speed as he got over the island proper. One thing he hadnt know was how to make this thing land, so he'd tied his extra rope to the tether, and untied himself, skittering down the rope and promptly getting whacked by a tree before making it down, using a little magic to reduce the solar winds on his kite/parachute thing, enough to brace himself on a tree and haul the thing out of the sky, tying it up and against his pack before letting it go again from his magics grip. He spent a few minutes scanning the sky until he caught side of red threads, showing his sister had made it too the island as well, before he went off towards the cleared area where he had seen tents being put up, probobly the camp they would be using here if this expedition took very long.

Soon enough, the spider skittered into the campground, looking around at the ones that were already there, including the guildmaster and their new ace. "Hey there everyone." He said by way of greeting, shrugging off the several huge waterskins he'd brought, to bundle them all up, glancing around the still being established camp. "I'll get water and see if I find any good firewood out there." He said, settling the waterskins on his back as he turned, shaking his head a little. BURNING wood for heat? It still seemed wierd, even though he saw the guild hall fireplace often.

Word Count: 1267 out of 7000

Small light brown fingers had grasped fingers held onto threads. The spider had used some threads to help her float... fly? Was there a goo way to describe using silk spider threads woven together to go to a far away location? But it was to get the girl to the location. This was a non magical spider ability, a skill that almost every spider who could create silk threads could pull off. It hadn't been her idea to use the method, it wasn't something the girl would have thought up even if she had more time. Her brother was the one who thought of it, or rather read about it? It was apparently a common skill used by normal spiders to travel vast distances. This wasn't something she could recall people in her old home home doing, which was strange. They all had the ability to create silk there. Then again, maybe that was just an unspoken rule of that society? Or maybe people there forgot that they could do it in the first place. That would certainly explain never hearing about it before. Either way, she was more than happy to land, feeling intensely insecure about flying anywhere in the air. She couldn't feel her surroundings in the air. This caused her incredible fear and insecurity. One thing was for sure, she was never flying completely alone under any circumstances. Sure, she was the only one on her web, but her brother was the one who told her about it. He also had launched himself before her. That gave the girl a level of comfort, even if it was only enough to keep her from freaking out or crying. As soon as the tips of her toes touched ground the girl released the thread.

Her feet quickly moved against the ground before she bent her top half downwards. The younger Talea thus begun to hug the ground, rubbing her face against it a bit like a long lost family member that the youth reunited with after far too long apart. "I hate being blind, I hate flying! Oh sweet ground..." Her nerves started to sooth down, enough to cause her to stop rubbing the dirt with her face. Now she could feel her surroundings and get an internal visual of the different shapes. After a few breaths and more time to calm, the pale reddish blond haired girl started to stand back up. After the arachnid was back on all eight legs, she proceeded to start fixing herself up until it felt like she didn't look like she spun through a clothes dryer and face planted the ground after. Now, where was she? Her blind eyes looked around as her other senses helped her decide the direction to go in. Thankfully it sounded like people were nearby, so she begun to speed over into that very direction. Relief washed over her after getting there. The young sand spider didn't know most of the guildmates here, but she did know Leona and her brother. The elder of the siblings seemed to already be offering help. Water? Firewood? Did she not ready for the right thing? The girl was so eager to go after finding an amazing book that the idea that it wouldn't happen under a day hadn't occurred to her until that moment. Well, she didn't bring enough food... but at least she could make her own tent? But it seemed like there were already tents.

Her confusion lead to one of her feet tapping a bit against the ground, the brief dislike of feeling such being visible within her body language. The youth had a lot of questions, but for now opted for going towards their elder sibling. Her arms wrapped around the taller spider, squeezing a hug in before letting go. It was enough physical contact from him to calm down her unsure and anxious heart. Well, now wasn't the time to show that she had felt that way, right? A smile spread across her deep colored lips. "I'm so excited! There's so many people here... I guess a lot of people like ancient magical books?" Yes, let's get excited! She wanted to move on and be happy, to get excited. It was better than to let the unknown bother her. It was a new place with a few unknown people, but that was okay. So, were they getting a camp ready? But she didn't want to loom about in a camp! But patience was one of those things she had yet to earn at her age, along with the weight of importance in gaining items in order to be sure less savory types didn't gain it. What should she do now? It didn't feel like the sort of situation where she could just stand around and expect orders to be given. "Uh, are we getting a camp ready? What should I be doing?" With asking things came more confidence and assurance. Things were happening and she was going to be part of it. This was of course when she started realizing that may she should have paid more attention to things before they left and listened more.

It probably would have been better than trying to squeeze as many pages of reading in of one book as possible before it was time to go. Well that didn't matter anymore anyway, right? "How many people are supposed to arrive? Should I do something to help with the camp? I can make and weave fabrics and fabric things really fast, though my other skills..." And that is how she accidentally started making herself feel insecure. All her other skills were all battle related. What else could see do that was useful? "Uh, I get visuals from sounds and touch so I'm good at finding stuff. It's how I read without sight, feeling the different materials." She wasn't sure what else to say, but at least felt a bit less like all she knew how to do was kill.

Wordcount: 1,000

Aspen sighed, sitting on the calmly gliding circle of metal that maneuvered through the skies over the vast ocean around, the blue stretching as far as the eye could see all around. Why was she making her way to this so called "Celestial Sanctum" again ? Ah, yeah, she was following the call of her guild. The group of mages that called itself Silver Wolf had been granted the right to explore this vastly unexplored island by the newly formed alliance of guilds Aspen Laeta Azarov had heard so much about, though hadn't had the chance to learn more details in person yet. She knew that the West Fiore Trading Company, Fairy Tail and Silver Wolf were all part of this alliance and, although lacking the deeper knowledge about what constituted being a guild mage and what made guilds so special, she knew that this occurrence was not a common sight from her time as a soldier in the armed forces of Pergrande. Alliances were only formed when all parties had something to gain, and as such she could safely be assured that Silver Wolf, the only guild she cared about, the people who had taken her in and showed her that there was a real, vast magical world out there to explore, would become stronger. Nodding to herself quietly, with the faintest hint of an approving smirk that immediately vanished once it had come up, restoring her face to the eternally stoic and emotionless expression from before.

Using her Metallokinesis to move it did not take the young Metal Dragon Slayer long to actually find the place that had been described to be the one where the alliance would have its mutually shared headquarters, the island approaching in the distance, getting closer and closer with each passing second, leaving the young slayer wondering: Just what exactly would they be doing on this island ? Sure, it would involve a decent amount of exploration and, with some certainty, a little bit of combat, Aspen clutching her Iron Key in her hands, but what exactly was their objective ? She would be sure to find out soon. Approaching what appeared like a group of people from the distance, Aspen was relieved, flying closer to recognize some familiar faces seemingly setting up camp right here on the island. Landing in the improvised base's middle, she hopped off the circular plate of metal that had carried her here, the metal liquifying and turning into a copy of the Iron Key, Aspen quickly snatching it out of the air and keeping it tightly clutched in her hand.

"Already hard at work ? I apologize for my belated arrival" she spoke, looking around to see some faces she had seen before and some she was entirely unfamiliar with, disregarding that aspect of the meeting for the fact that, or so it seemed, all of the present people were mages, and all of them belonged to her guild. "Silver Wolf business only, huh ?", she thought to herself before beginning with the construction of her own accomodation, throwing the Iron Key she still held down, the metal liquifying once more, stretching as it formed a frame of metal that closely resembled a pyramid shaped tipi, the metal expanding further as it filled in the blanks, eventually closing the space inside the frame completely, leaving open only the doorway. It wouldn't be the best housing, but it would protect against the elements enough for a while and was spacious enough for comfortable sleep. "Anyone need one of these ?" she asked out loud with her usual, monotonous voice, pointing at the metallic tent she had just made "I can make an infinite number of them ... potentially", lowering her arm as she looked around. "So, as much as it pains me to ask this, what are we going to do here today ? I'm afraid I haven't received any sort of ... briefing".

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Word Count: 656
Word Count Goal: 656 / 1.500

Leona was deeply embarrassed when everyone's gradual arrival clued her in to something vital missing. She had completely forgotten to arrange transportation for the other guild members who were going on the job! Not everyone had access to flying summons who could double as transportation. Not everyone knew where Celestial Sanctum was either. Leona would have to work on both of those things in the future.

For now she would spring into action to try and organize the guild members. They were looking to her for direction and she needed to give them direction. Eero would be helpful in that regard.

"I believe that our first priority should be setting up the camp. We'll use it as a gathering place and as a landmark." Leona said while finishing the touches on the tent. She made sure that all the tent pegs and all the ropes were securely in place. Once they were, she turned to her guild members.

"Inkormine, I want you to start gathering firewood and water. We'll need them in order to set up camp. I want us to be well-supplied before we set out into the wilderness. If you want to take someone with you to help, take whoever you need." Leona said to Inkormine. Next Leona would try to think of a food source. Food would be important too. She was not sure if everyone had brought enough rations to last the entire trip.

Aspen wanted to know what the point of their trip was. That was a good question. Leona decided to inform everyone of their objective while everyone was still gathered.

"We're here today to look for a special book called the Testament of Stars. From what little I've heard about it, it's a book with star charts and other information written in it. It's a product of a long-gone ancient civilization." Leona started her briefing. She did not have very much information to offer them. For the longest time the book was considered to not even be real. Today they would all learn whether it was real or not.

"We've been given the chance to explore the Celestial Sanctum to confirm whether the Testament of Stars really exists. Alliance members are the only ones allowed to legally be here, but I wouldn't be surprised if we ran into other people looking for it. If we encounter anyone else, be wary. They might want to get rid of us to make sure they're the only ones who get the book." Leona warned everyone. She was running with a crew of competent mages who knew their trade. Still, as Guild Master she was responsible for their well-being. They deserved to know what they would be going up against. Unfortunately for everyone, this was only Leona's second time visiting the island, so she did not know very much about Celestial Sanctum herself.

[Word Count: 476]
[Total Personal Word Count: 812]

“Ah, you look… extremely weary,” Yuvon greeted the next person to arrive, the Toxic Extension of the majestic dragon world… more known in this plane and in the guild as Eero. However, that was what was within Yuvon’s memory, so all things considered, he was a close friend of his. “Make sure not to puke all over the place, we’re putting up a base.”

“Ah, greetings, my arachnoid associates,” he continued to greet the two arachna who appeared next. It was nice to see that so many guildmembers responded to the call for a guild mission like this one… however, when they found the book, he’d ready up his suggestion to be the first one to read it. Deal.

“An arrival is better than none, Aspen,” he replied to Aspen’s arrival, the Metal Wizard immediately manifesting her own tent designs made of some chosen, metallic substance. Memorized. That could come in handy, someday.

And in the endgame, Yuzuki popped up in the area - her raven-black hair making her stand out sharply in contrast to the blond-haired, the blond-red-black-haired, the arachna and Yuvon himself. His memory about her was faint, sadly, because they have had so little time or amount of opportunities to encounter. Today, it would be different, though. The entire guild needed to hold each other’s backs in the search of the Testament. That was absolute.

Leona explained the objective to the present guildmates of Silver Wolf; they were looking for a special book bearing the name ‘Testament of Stars’. That alone indicated that the book could’ve been written down by a person in this realm, so it wasn’t any universal construction. That also approached the possibility of its language - they would have to be able to read it, and if it was written in some unknown language, then Yuvon would have to hit the library and educate everyone on Minstrelian.

No, it was, of upmost certainty, written in Fiorian… or in some language that at least one of the wizards present knew.

Also, the very location was a mystery on its own, since it was Yuvon’s first time being here; probs to Leona for arriving first, because otherwise the librarian wouldn’t have been able to find the place. Hah, that was quite amusing; imagine him and Kitalpha stuck in Apocrypha’s halls for the duration.

Opposing treasure hunters was a possible encounter here… the masked wizard would keep his guard up.

WC: 404
TWC: 448 + 404 = 852